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Hollywood Homicide (US - DVD R1)

A different kind of buddy cop film? Read on to find out!

IntroductionHollywood Homicide burned at the box office and made a quick leap to DVD. The word on the street was to avoid this film at all costs and save on the embarrassment you’ll feel for all those involved. Trying to be an original kind of buddy cop flick, Hollywood Homicide misfires in more than ways than one. Is it as bad as you heard though? Read on to find out.

FilmHarrison Ford stars as Joe Gavilan, a well known detective who cannot find the same success in his personal life as he does at work. There are three ex-wives in Joe’s life, and he is stuck with a particularly bad investment in a large house that he intended to sell as part of his side real estate business. His partner, K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett), is a rookie, but is already having doubts about his life as a cop. Spending his free time as a yoga instructor (teaching a class that is unbelievably full of highly attractive women), K.C. dreams of becoming an actor.

Joe and K.C., of course, become involved in a high-profile murder investigation involving the unfortunately named rap group H2O Klick. During the course of the investigation, the audience is ‘treated’ to more and more glimpses of Joe and K.C.’s personal lives. Every buddy cop cliché rears its ugly little head during the film, as the search moves at an agonizingly slow pace. For good measure, a thin internal investigation on Joe’s investment practices is thrown in. This subplot comes out of nowhere and adds up to absolutely nothing.

Hollywood Homicide is a cinematic misfire of epic and historical proportions. When the movie is obviously trying to be clever, no one is laughing because the jokes fall flat. When the cops are investigating a murder, no one cares because the script is too jumbled to make any sense of what is going on from scene to scene. When there is the slightest hint of action at the very end of the movie, everyone has gotten up and left (and they really are not missing anything). There is only one amusing sequence that has Joe and K.C. being interrogated separately. However, even this scene begins to hit the pavement as the most annoying cell phone ringer you will ever hear (and will hear dozens of time in this film) once again blares from the speakers.

The waste of talent in this film is another thing to mention. This movie is almost an epitaph engrained on the tombstone of Harrison Ford’s career. There is no possible way anyone involved in this project could have read the script and decided it would be a good career move. Even Josh Harnett should have a little more dignity than this. There are even embarrassing cameos from Lou Diamond Phillips, Eric Idle and Robert Wagner.

Hollywood Homicide fails because it tries too hard. The movie obviously wanted to be something a little different by having buddy cops that lead separate lives with separate ambitions. However, in the process of doing so, the movie walks the trail (on purpose I might add) that every other buddy cop movie has followed. The underdevelopment of the lives of these characters (the very thing that was supposed to make this film different), and the complete lack of joy in the audience as we watch these actors deliver such witless dialogue, makes for a miserable experience.

VideoColumbia Pictures has dignified Hollywood Homicide with a nice video transfer. The 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer contains rich colours. Contrast is excellent and black levels are deep and consistent. For any fan of the film this transfer will be very pleasing. There is also the option to view the movie in 1.33:1 pan and scan.

AudioThe Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is also surprisingly good here. Although the movie doesn’t give the track many sound effects to work with, there is an abundance of rap music to give the track a workout. Bass is deep throughout, and dialogue is never muddy or hard to hear. The movie also has a Dolby Surround track in French.

ExtrasRealizing the lack of necessity to delve too deeply into the creation of this film, the DVD producers have created a very thin package for Hollywood Homicide. There is a commentary from director Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump) that proves to be extremely dull. Shelton spends far too much time trying to justify the creation of this film and explaining why this movie is, in fact, a funny, original buddy cop film worthy of study and attention. At other times he narrates the onscreen action.

There is also a trailer section that includes Hollywood Homicide and a host of other, better movies. There is also a filmography section that contains information about the director, writer and the two stars of the movie.

OverallIt is likely that everything you’ve heard about this film is true; that is, assuming you’ve heard nothing good. The film is good for a few laughs as you and your friends get together and poke fun at the ineptness of the script and the laziness of the actors involved. The DVD package does nothing to save this film from the horrible death it will receive, but it will please those fans of the movie. As much as I wanted to give this movie a fighting chance, it never stopped disappointing me through its exorbitant one hundred and sixteen minute running time.

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